Saturday, October 15, 2011

Teaching to Different Learning Styles

Many books have been written on the subject, and it seems everyone has an opinion on what the different learning styles are and how to best teach each type of learner.Often a child will take after their parent, so if you know you’re a verbal learner, perhaps your child is too.Knowing what type of learner your child is will help you teach material in a way they are able to learn with the least effort.

Verbal students do well in traditional school settings.They are good readers and writers, and in general are excellent students because so much of school is geared toward this learning style.

Auditory learners need to hear things to understand.So explaining a concept to them is easier for them to retain than if they must read it to themselves.They learn best by listening and repeating the information back to you rather than reading and writing the material.

Kinesthetic learners are very hands-on and learn best with things they can touch and feel.Math lessons should involve lots of manipulatives to handle, and science of course can be accomplished with plenty of experiments and physical demonstrations.Many kinesthetic kids would rather tour a historical museum or participate in a historical reenactment than read a history text, and reading in general is not one of their favorite activities.